We slept in later than usual, getting down to “crafts” at 8:30 am. This is a freebie gift of some little craft package that some people actually do as a way to pass time on sea days. But more people stow them away to give to their grandchildren when they get home. I got a package and give it to Maureen, for her grandchildren.

Then we stopped at the casino before breakfast. And I hit a bonus, winning $180. I finished the day up $150 (down $150 for the cruise – I cut my loses in half).

After breakfast we played cards until noon, then Marlene and I took ownership of a Serenity Deck cabana and jumped (literally, for Marlene, earning her a harsh reprimand from the pool attendant) into the pool. After splashing about and socializing for a bit we retired to the cabana and spent a leisurely hour sunbathing and enjoying the beautiful day.

After dinner (pretty ordinary this time) we attended a show by a juggler/comedian (nothing special). We danced for a bit after that, then, at 10:30 pm, attended Quest, the traditional (on Carnival cruises) adult scavenger hunt event. Always fun. I can’t be specific about what went on there, but a good time was had by all. A very good end to a very good day.

I will add that on this day we also viewed, for the first time, the elaborate towel-art display that has been the talk of the ship. It is common, on board a cruise ship, for a cabin attendant to leave a towel-art animal after cleaning the room. But one attendant on the Luminosa has been leaving elaborate towel-art scenes, first in the 6th floor hallway and then, when it attracted too much attention, in the 6th floor elevator lobby. Every day he constructs a different scene, usually with a smooth transition from one day to the next. For example, one day he had a turtle laying eggs and the next day had many small turtles emerging from the eggs. Very creative.

I was very happy to wake and find the seas were calm and the day was sunny. I didn’t need another nasty day at sea.

Marlene and I started the day in the casino. She did fine but the machines were unfriendly to me: I lost $50 and am now down $300.

After breakfast I bought the one-day internet package ($22 per day – not bad) and blogged through Day 20. That took me to lunch. After lunch we played cards (Oh Shit, didn’t win) then napped. Dinner was formal, which gave Marlene an opportunity to wear her new kimono and gave me an opportunity to tie a kimono bow. I reviewed the video I took and managed to do it pretty well on the first try – it stayed in place all night.

The kimono was a big hit – Marlene was given LOTS of compliments all night long. And the next day, too, when she was no longer wearing it. She did look beautiful.

Dinner was terrific again – Beef Wellington. I have dined well this week.

The show was Kate Lindeman a “classically-trained soprano” who sang popular songs beautifully.

Then we danced to the always-terrific Luminosa Rockband. A good day and a wonderful evening.

A nasty day at sea. We sailed to the east of Typhoon Koinu but felt the effects of its recent passage – 8- to 10-foot seas, After breakfast and some (poorly performed) trivia contests I was feeling nauseous and went up to the cabin. And slept most of the afternoon. I skipped lunch entirely and had only a salad for dinner, By evening both the seas and my stomach were calmer and I went up to the 80’s dance party by the pool. Then had some pizza,

Marlene went to dinner with “the girls” and also caught the show – a revue of Broadway tunes. No dancing though as the stage was rolling too much.

My father was stationed in Okinawa for a time near the end of WWII so the island was interesting for personal reasons. But I suspect that the Okinawa I experienced was very different than the one he experienced.

As usual, we had no excursion planned so we just took the free shuttle to the center of the city and wandered about. In this case the wandering was pretty linear as the main street of Naha is pretty much where all of the action is. We walked probably 2 miles along this avenue, then crossed the street and walked back. The street is lined with small shops of all kinds. We bought some souvenirs, including two bottles of saki for gifts and one bottle of mango plum liqueur for our own personal use. I thought it likely that the booze would be confiscated by the ship security but they weren’t.

Some of the shop fronts were quite ornate. Others were surprisingly western, including a hip-hop dance club and a McDonald’s. We also saw some exotic liquor bottles containing snakes. Disgusting.

We mostly browsed and shopped but had time to goof off too.

Dinner was filet mignon. Not as good as the previous day’s chateaubriand, but very good. The chef is upping his game, I guess.

We danced after dinner, but were pretty tired from the walking (over 15,000 steps) so went to bed early.

This was a very quiet sea day. Until it wasn’t.

After breakfast, I spent some time in the casino (just long enough to lose $30, down $200), and played some cards, then returned to the cabin and spent several hours blogging. That took me to dinner (filet mignon – very good but not as good as the chateaubriand) where Marlene got angry with me for using my phone. I was trying to show Evie the photos I had taken of her in Tokyo but the internet was slow. Apparently I violated some unspoken “waiting too long for the internet” rule. I don’t know exactly what my crime was as she refused to speak to me the rest of the night.

I attended the evening movie: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Not great, but pretty good. Definitely better than John Wick but with a plot that may have been as ridiculous. No matter. It was fun.

Upon returning to the cabin I learned that our Philippines stop has been cancelled, courtesy of Typhoon Koinu. It is a disappointment – the third of our original 8 ports to be skipped. But I am mostly disappointed for Evie and Deb who planned to take an excursion on an underground river. And for Rose, the singer in the Luminosa Rockband, who was planning on seeing her young child for the first time in 5 months.

Tomorrow we are docking in Okinawa. As Marlene and I were not planning on going ashore in Indonesia, this may be our last time on land until we reach Australia. Hopefully we will be talking again before we get there.

By now you should be familiar with our typical sea day: breakfast, cards, casino, dinner (Marlene was initially disgusted by the look of the fish dish served at dinner, but decided, after tasting it, that it was quite good) and show. We did all of that (won $45 at the casino, down $170) but also saw two comedians in the afternoon (mediocre) and played a round of mini golf (I had 4 holes-in-one in 10 holes). The show was a female vocalist, Jenisa Baclayon. Also mediocre.

Another quiet day at sea. Breakfast, some cards, enough time in the casino to lose $40 (down $215 now), some blogging, dinner and a show – a musical revue by the Luminosa singers. This is a very talented group. We then danced to the Luminosa Rockband. Also a very talented group.

Our third port, Aamori, lies less than 80 miles due south of Hakodate. The ship could probably make the trip in less than 5 hours. But why arrive before midnight when you can go out beyond the 12-mile limit and let passengers lose money all night? So that’s what we did, arriving around 7am.

Aamori is our first port on the mainland of Japan. It is about the same size as Hakodate but feels larger, perhaps because it is less geographically constrained and so sprawls more. We again opted to walk the city, skipping the excursions. We first walked to the tourism office which is housed in a dramatic triangular building. The tourism office was a bust, adding little to what we already knew (thanks to my research). But it did have some interesting shops. Marlene found a very nice kimono and a few gift trinkets.

Next we walked to the Nebuta Museum. This is a small (and inexpensive – tickets are under $5) museum that features floats from the Nebuta Matsuri Festival which is held August 2-7 each year. It is basically a harvest festival but the floats are spectacular. We loved them. We also had a turn at the Taiko drums.

Marlene got some instruction from the museum staff on how to tie the sash on her kimono. Then we had lunch in the museum restaurant. I had a full sushi lunch while Marlene had a large ramen bowl. Both were very good. The price was a pleasant surprise – about $15 total. And no tipping in Japan.

We both found the restroom facilities to be interesting. Very clean, of course, but with fixtures unfamiliar to us.

After the museum we wandered through central Aamori for a while before visiting the Utou jinja Shrine. This is a small Shinto shrine in central Aamori. We didn’t go in as a family was worshipping. But we enjoyed the grounds. It had some lovely buildings and a koi pond with some huge fish.

After dinner we were entertained by two very funny comedians: Jim Brick and Michael Isaac. Then, against my better judgement, I went to the casino. But this time the slots relented and I won $35. Down $175 for the cruise.